The Government of Hong Kong announced on October 18, 2021 that it will place a temporary ban on the arrival of Qatar Airways’ flights from Doha from October 18, 2021 to October 31, 2021.
The Department of Health (DH) made the decision after the airline’s QR818 Doha to Hong Kong flights on October 13, 2021 and October 16, 2021 each had two passengers who were found to be COVID-19 positive after arrival testing at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).
“The global situation of COVID-19 infection remains severe and there is a continuous increase in the number of cases involving mutant strains that carry higher transmissibility, and there are also reports of breakthrough infections in some vaccinated individuals,” Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) said in its online statement.
“The CHP strongly urges members of the public to avoid all non-essential travel outside Hong Kong, in particular to specified places with high risk under the Prevention and Control of Disease.”
Qatar Airways has just come out of an earlier temporary ban placed by Hong Kong from September 28, 2021 to October 11, 2021. This was due to flight QR818’s arrival in Hong Kong on September 26, 2021, where four passengers were found to be COVID-19 positive upon arrival testing.
Hong Kong’s number of COVID cases currently stands at 12,300.